Our German Ancestors

It was 9^th grade at Ridgeview Junior High when I got an assignment in English to write a paper on my ancestors.   I was fortunate that all my grandparents were living and I could ask each of them about their parents and grandparents.  What I got was names and some anecdotal information.  Of all the papers I’ve written through school – including all the way through graduate school – that little 9th grade English paper is the only one I’ve ever kept.  Yep! Still have it.  Obviously you can see where my priorities have been for the last 40 some odd years. 

As simplistic as the information was, it proved to be extremely helpful, especially in tracking down some lines of the family that I had little connection with as a youngster.  In particular, my Grandpa Al Metzner’s mother’s family – the Reiters and Schoppmanns of Fort Wayne, Indiana. 

Lizzie Reiter Metzner, ca. 1920

The Reiter side of the family begins with Grandpa Al’s mother, Lisetta “Lizzie” Reiter (1874-1958).  She was a Midwest girl – born and bred in Indiana.  Her parents were Conrad Reiter and Sophie Schoppmann.  Conrad and his parents were the immigrants on the Reiter side.  Sophie’s parents and two sets of grandparents were the immigrants on the Schoppmann side.  

Both of the families came from the area of Westphalia in northwest Germany and arrived in America in the mid-1840s.  We don’t know why they decided to come to America but I suspect it was to find better opportunities.  The website ic.galegroup. com explains it quite well …

• Although political turbulence and religious repression in Europe triggered small waves of German migration to the United States, most historians note that the mass migrations were mainly motivated by the desire for economic opportunity and prosperity. For many years rural Germans had lived on small family farms. As the German states faced industrialization, the old way of rural life was quickly disappearing. Many were forced to move into cities and learn new skills. Yet, with unemployment in Germany rising, the cities did not always hold much hope. Among those who emigrated, some had few options left in Germany and sought more opportunity. Steady migrations were ongoing starting in the early nineteenth century. 

The Reiter/Schoppmann family came from the area in Westfalen (Westphalia) circled in white.

For anyone who has moved away from home, you know how tough it can be.  There is uncertainty, fear, and loneliness, but also some excitement about what may lie ahead.  But when I think about these migrations of our ancestors – leaving their home, their family, their friends – I think it must have been gut-wrenching.  They didn’t have the instant communication we have today and for many it could take months to hear from a loved one back home; and, in most cases families would never see each other again.  Based on that factor alone, taking the leap to emigrate seems to have been a very brave thing to do.  I do, however, find one comfort in the fact that, for most 19th century immigrants to America, they came in family groups or with friends. So, perhaps, not such a lonely prospect after all.

  

That is almost certainly what happened with our Reiter/Schoppmann and extended families. Several family groups came in the mid-1840s and all settled in a small are of Adams County, Indiana. 

Lizzie Reiter’s ancestors came over in 2-4 groups.  I say 2-4 because I have only found the passenger records for two groups.  The others came at different times--together or separately we don't know since I’ve yet to find their passenger records.

Here are the immigration facts that we know:

On 19 Oct. 1844, a small group of people arrived at the Port of New York on the passenger ship Charleston.  All were destined for “Washington.”       I am almost certain that meant Washington Township in Adams County, Indiana.  The group included two brothers, Henry and Dietrich Schoppmann; Dietrich’s future wife Sophie Hakemeyer; and two others who may have been family friends – Friedrich Meyer and Karoline Emme. Dietrich Schoppmann and Sophie Hakemeyer (Hockemeier) [circled in green above] were the grandparents of our Lizzie Reiter. 

    Henry Schoppmann 26 [male] Butcher New York Washington

     Dietrich ditto           22 [male]  Farmer  Prussia      ditto 

     Sophia Hakemeyer  23 female  Farmgirl Westphalen  ditto

What is interesting about this record is that it appears to indicate that Henry Schoppman was already living in America when he arrived on this particular passage. The record identifies him as a butcher in New York City. That tells me he immigrated at an earlier date then went back to Germany, perhaps to encourage and bring others back with him.
 

At some point, Henry and Dietrich Schoppmann’s parents (circled in orange above) and siblings also emigrated to America, as did Sophie Hockemeier’s parents and siblings (circled in navy blue), but the records of those journeys have also not been found.

The other family that has been found is circled in red – the Reiters.  This family immigrated to the U.S. and landed at the Port of Baltimore on 2 August 1845 -- father Friedrich, mother Elisabeth (Lizzetta), and seven children. The youngest, Conrad (Lizzie Reiter’s father), was just three years old.  Conrad’s younger brother, Johann Herman, was born 14 days after they arrived.  One can only imagine the discomfort of that 2-month voyage for a very pregnant Lizzetta.  

    Friedr. Reyter [from Selenfeld]  [farmer]  [destination Baltimore] age 46

      Elisab.  same as above                                                                     age 44

      Louise   same                                                                                   age 22

      Fried.     same                                                                                   age 20

      Wilh      same                                                                                   age 18

      Diedr     same                                                                                   age 15

      Sophie   same                                                                                   age 12

      Heinr.    same                                                                                   age   8

      Conr.     same                                                                                   age   3

 

The Reiter family settled in Adams County, Indiana by 1848 as evidenced by Friedrich Reiter’s 1848 Naturalization document.  It states:

I Frederick Reiter an alien, do make the following report of myself, to wit I am a native of the Canton of Windheim in Prussia born on the 2nd day of January AD 1797.  I emigrated from the port of Bremen on the 2nd day of June AD 1845 and arrived at the Port of Baltimore in the United States of America, on the 2nd day of August AD 1845 and [one] my allegiance to Frederick William 4th King of Prussia and I reporte my sons and daughters as follows to wit Wilhelmina aged now 19 years, Diederick aged now about 18 years, Sophia aged 15 years, Henry aged 12 years, Conrad aged 7 years who came with me to the United States and who were then less than Eighteen years of age. And I do solemnly swear that it is bona fide my intention to become a citizen of the United States of America and of the state of Indiana, and I renounce and abjune forever all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign power potentate state and sovereignty whatever and [forhand____] to Frederick William Fourth King of Prussia.                        Signed Friderick Reider     Sworn to and subscribed before me the 28th day of November 1848, Samuel L. Rugg Clk 

And with that, our Reiter family became citizens of their new country. There is lots more to come...stayed tuned!

Clues from John Metzner

Our Metzner ancestry can be traced in America to brothers John Metzner of Jay County, Indiana; William Metzner of Licking County, Ohio; and presumed brother George Metzner of Putnam County, Ohio.  John is the only one that has a published biography (Biographical and Historical Record of Jay and Blackford Counties, Indiana, 1887).  It identifies his parents as Jasper Metzner and Hannah Risanburg and eight children in the following order: Rachel, John, William, George, Hannah, Andrew, Nicholas, and Mary.

The children found in the Heldburg, Germany records (that I shared in the blog of 1/18/2014) for Johann Caspar Metzner and Johanne Susanna Weissenborn, are surprisingly close in name to those in John’s biography.

Rachel – not listed in the German records

John – listed as Johann Veit, b. 3 Oct 1807

William – listed as Ernst Friedrich Wilhelm, b. 18 Mar 1811

George – listed as Georg, b. 30 Mar 1813

Hannah – listed as Johanna Henrietta Maria, b. 8 Aug 1809

Andrew – listed as Georg Andreas, b. 7 Mar 1815

Nicholas – listed as Johann Nicol, b. 25 Feb 1818

Mary – listed as Anna Maria, b. 15 Dec 1824

There is one other boy listed in the German records who is not accounted for in John’s biography:

Johann Bernhard, b. 7 Jan 1821

William Metzner's marker

Unfortunately, there are some discrepancies between the biographical information and the German records.  Rachel is not found in the German records while Bernhard is, though he's not identified in John’s biography.  John’s birth date in U.S. records is 2 Oct 1805 – a difference of two years and a day from the German record.  William's birth date is also problematic.  His cemetery marker notes that he was 75y 2m 28d when he died, giving him a birth date of 11 Mar 1807 – four years and a week earlier than the German record. Still, that's not enough for me to discard this potential German family.

There is also a statement in John’s biography that I challenge.  It reads,

 “His father [i.e., Jasper] died in 1838 on the ocean while crossing to America.”  

If we are to believe that this German family is ours, then the above statement may be a misinterpretation of the facts by whomever recorded the biography.       I believe John meant that his father Jasper died while John was crossing to America.  I feel even more certain of it now that I’ve read John Metzner’s obituary from the Portland Commercial, 22 Dec 1887, thanks to cousin and fellow researcher Travis LeMaster who found the entry. The obituary states . . .

“John Metzner was born in Germany, October 21, 1805, came to America in 1837 …” 

So now we have an additional discrepancy in the year of John's arrival.  Is it 1838 or 1837? Finding John in U.S. Immigration & Passenger Records has been tricky.  He does not show up in 1838 (as purported in his biography) under the name John or Johann Metzner. In fact, there is no one that fits the bill arriving in 1838.  There is, however, someone in 1837.   V. Metzner arrived in Baltimore on 24 May 1837.  Could the V be for Veit (in Johann Veit Metzner)? Take a look at the record below.

 

What is exciting about this record is that V. Metzner is listed from “Hellburg” and is a “wheeler.”  I suspect a wheeler is someone who makes wheels for carriages and wagons.  We’ve seen the carriage and wagon-making trade in the Metzner family before, and we’ve certainly seen references to a town called Hellburg, Heldburg, or Hillburgh.

There are two small problems with this particular passenger -- V. Metzner’s age is 29, making his birth year about 1808. That doesn’t jive with our other dates (either 1805 or 1807).  Also, he is traveling with Margaretha Metzner.  While this is likely his wife, there is no family history of John being married before Catherine Young, and the German records do not confirm an earlier marriage.  Puzzle! 
 
But the whole story of Jasper dying at sea in 1838 is what I challenge and this particular passenger record helps me argue that point.  The German records show that Johann Caspar Metzner (John’s presumed father) died in Germany on 11 Mar 1837, exactly at the time that V. Metzner was traveling to America. If Caspar (Jasper) is our ancestor, he didn’t die at sea as noted in the biography – he died while John was “at sea.”  Caspar’s German death record further indicates that at the time of his death he had one son in America – I propose that that was V. Metzner a.k.a. our John Metzner of Jay County.

Death & Burial, 1837                                                                              

No 32.  Johann Caspar Metzner. Husband, citizen and cartwright here, died the11^th March in the 4^th hour of the morning, and buried the 14^th March after midday, age: 59 years 7 months 23 days; died of emaciation [sometimes defined as tuberculosis].  Survived by 8 children [von k___]  [including] 1 son in America [born here] and 2 married daughters.

 

Are the discrepancies outlined here enough to throw this family out of contention as our ancestors?  I don't think so, but I’ll continue to look at others as they reveal themselves. Anyone doing Metzner research who would like to chime in on the validity of my theory, I welcome the discourse. 

Hillburg or Helbourg

Getting the Metzners back to Germany has been quite a chore.  No family stories have been passed down telling us where the Metzners may have lived Germany.  There are only a few clues from public records -- those are outlined in “Clues from George Metzner” on 1/11/2014.  Based on those clues, I found a family that might work for our German ancestors.  Of course, it is just a theory and certainly up for debate. I welcome others’ thoughts on my findings.

The most significant clue is revealed through George Metzner (1813-1875) and William Metzner (1811-1882), presumed brothers.   It is a place name – Hillburg or Helbourg – mentioned in U.S. census records for these men.  Another clue is found in George Metzner’s passenger record of 1841. It lists Coburg as his German residence.  With that I looked for a Hillburg or Helbourg near Coburg – Coburg being a sizable town in southern Germany. Slogging through old maps of Germany I found a couple places that could be our Metzner homeland.

1890 map of the State of Thϋringen. It neighbors Saxony which is where American records say our German ancestors came from. Saxony's borders changed many times so it's perfectly likely that Thϋringen, at one time, may have been part of Saxony, or visa versa. This map shows Coburg (Koburg) where George Metzner lived prior to coming to America in 1841.   Hildburgh or Heldburg (circled in red) may be a family hometown as noted in U.S. census records for brothers George and William Metzner.     

Next I looked for possible records microfilmed by the Latter Day Saints in the Coburg area.  There were church records from Heldburg but they were too early to do me much good.  There were also records from Hellborn.  I rented those but had no luck.  So what could I do? How would I figure out if our family might have come from either of these places?  

That’s when I decided to write a letter – it was September 2002 and I wrote to the Staatsarchiv Coburg.  They were nice enough to reply – in German – but I got the drift of the letter. They directed me to another repository – the Ev.-Luth. Pfarramt Heldburg-Ummerstadt.  That repository informed me that I would have to wait until January 2004 (nearly a year later!) because the church records for Heldburg were out-of-house being microfilmed and then they would be transferred to the Lutheran Church Archives in Thϋringen.   It was a long year!  In February 2004 I wrote to the Thϋringen archive and it took another full year for them to get back to me. 

Based on the little bit of information I gave them, they responded with a family that is an uncanny match to ours.  I gave them the following data: 

-         Jasper Metzner married Hannah Risanburg, date unknown

-         They had at least 8 children including John (b. 1805), William (b. 1807), and George (b. 1813)

-         The family may have come from Hellburg or Coburg 

Envelope containing records sent by the Thuringen archives.

The day the envelope arrived from Germany was like Christmas, ten times over!  It was so thick I knew there had to be something promising in there.  Also promising was the bill they included – 150€ -- basically $300 including the cost of an international bank transfer. Worth every penny!!!

The archivist sent me all the church records from Heldburg (between 1773-1834) that contained the name Metzner, but she transcribed nothing. It took me weeks to work through the records and understand what I had.  And what I had was a family that seemed to fit.  There were eight children with names similar to those listed in John Metzner’s biography (Biographical & Historical Record of Jay & Blackford Counties, Indiana, 1887) – Rachel, John, William, George, Hannah, Andrew, Nicholas, Mary. The father's and mother’s names were similar to Jasper and Hannah Risanburg Metzner, and Jasper was a “cartwright” – a similar occupation to the brothers John, William, and George who have been variously listed as coach maker, wagon maker, and harness maker. 

There are three records for Jasper and Hannah which follow. It includes my translation, the original handwritten record, and my best guess to the German text.  Note: text in brackets [ ] contain words and phrases that I could not translate adequately and have given my best guess as to their meanings or German spelling:

  

·         Marriage, 1804-1805                                                     

6. Johann Caspar Metzner.  Citizen and cartwright here, the youngest legitimate son of Johann  Andreas Metzner, cartwright at [Wolamind], and a bachelor, [married to] Johanna Susanna Weissenborn, the oldest legitimate daughter of Johann Conrad Weissenborn, citizen and tanner here; it is her first marriage; banns were posted three times; marriage [on the] 21^st August [with something done in Stille i.e., silence]

6. Johann Caspar Metzner. Burger und Wagner allhier, das Meister Johann Andreas Metzner Wagner zu Wolamind, ehelich jungster Sohn ein Junggeselle war das mit Johanna Susanna Weissenbornin, Meister  Johann Conrad Weissenborn Burger und Roth gerber allhier, ehelich altester Tochter er ster Ehe jungfruelichen Standes, auf vorher  [gegengener?] 3 [maliger] Aufgebot das 21 August von der [Betstunde] in des Stille [au pulirl]

·         Death & Burial, 1837                                                                              

No 32.  Johann Caspar Metzner. Husband, citizen and cartwright here, died the11^th March in the 4^th hour of the morning, and buried the 14^th March after midday, [illegitimate church?*], age: 59 years 7 months 23 days; died of emaciation [sometimes defined as tuberculosis].  Survived by 8 children [von k___]  [including] 1 son in America [born here] and 2 married daughters 

                

*perhaps means he was not a member of the church 

                                                                  

[nrott:] 32. Johann Caspar Metzner, Ehemann, Burger und Wagnermeister dahier, sterb den 11 Marz fruh 4 Uhr, und ____ beerdigot das 14 Marz, Nachmittag, [unehel_ kirche]  Er war alt: 59 Jahr 7 Monate 23 Tags; und Sterb au Auszehrung.  [Erhietralost] 8 Kinder, [von k___] 1 Sohn nach  Amerika aus [geburtsort] und 2 Tochter verheiratet

·         Death & Burial, 1846                                                                            

23/Johanne Susanna Metzner

born Weissenbornin 8/3 1783 63 years 2 months 22 days

Died 30 May 4^th hour of the morning

Widow of  ___ Gr____ citizen and master cartwright Joh. Caspar Metzner; died following [Kuiszawantz__ung], buried [with ceremony?] 

on 2 June before midday. Bell ringing at 10 o’clock. 

23/Johanne Susanna Metzner gbr Weissenbornin 8/3/783  63 J. 2 M.  22 E.)  
das 30 Mai Morgan 4 Uhr.

eine Wittwe das ___ Gr___ Burg. & Wagner meister Joh. Caspar Metzner, ist gestorben in folz [von] [Kuiszawantz_ung] be  gradult [von] De [Ceremon] 
2 Jun Vormitt.  10 Uhr und Glochen gelaute.

My theory is that Jasper Metzner, identified in John Metzner’s Jay County, Indiana biography, is Johann Caspar Metzner.  Hannah Risanburg, mentioned in the same biography, is Johanne Susanna Weissenborn. They were married on August 21, 1804.

I don’t think it is a stretch to accept Caspar for Jasper.  And Hannah would be an abbreviated name for Johanne. It is her surname that is the most problematic.  How do we accept Weissenborn for Risanburg?  My theory is that John (or perhaps one of his children) provided the information for John’s biography which was published in 1887, one year before his death.  It is almost certain that he spoke with a heavy German accent.  If he was the one conveying the history, with his heavy accent, the person taking the information may have heard Risanburg for Weissenborn.  And perhaps John, in his old age, had other infirmities that caused his speech to be less clear.  Even if his children were conveying the biography, they, all reared in the United States, would have completely different accents than their father and may also have heard Weissenborn as Risanburg.  Someday I’d like to find someone with a good strong German accent to pronounce Weissenborn for me and see if I hear Risanburg. 

I'll let you absorb the above before I outline more clues. There are a few more. The theory continues… 

Auf Wiedersehen!